Solvent-free, one-pot synthesis of nitrogen-tailored alkali-activated microporous carbons with an efficient CO2 adsorption

Abstract In the present study, a series of alkali-activated carbon materials (TOKs) were prepared by a single-pot polymerization-carbonization-activation method using KOH as a dynamic molecular porogen. The fabricated materials possess tunable porous network with high specific surface area (up to 2847 m2/g), large micropore volume (1.369 cm3/g), and high population of micropores in sub-nanometer range. At 1 bar and 273 K, activated carbons TOK-800 and TOK-900 adsorbed 6.57 mmol/g of CO2 and 6.85 mmol/g of CO2, attributed to well-defined micropores ∼0.73 nm with large micropore volume. At low pressure (